BEFORE AND AFTER - how diiiiddd you do it?!?

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My success story and blog on how I did it are included in my signature (with photos). I love reading everyone's success stories and seeing their progress photos. It keeps me inspired... even though I'm almost to my goal. It keeps me from going back to old habits.

that is so awsome. great job, keep motivated

You are all stars.. And the rest of us will be stars soon!! We are on the way to being stars...

Just need to boost the exercise..

Thanks for the tips everyone!!

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In the Spring of 2009 I finally joined a local La Fitness, signed up for Weight Watchers for Men online and bought a Polar FT7 HR monitor.

On 4/27/09, I weighed a bit over 275 lbs. (at 5’ 4”) and had stopped any regular exercise routine. My health was a major issue and I had problems ranging from borderline (essentially there) Type 2 Diabetes, neck pain, back pain, knee pain, constant heartburn & poor liver tests.

I feel that Polar HR systems, La Fitness, WW and now MFP.com have literally saved my life! Today, 2 years after the start of this journey, I am less than 175 lbs. and feeling great!

Today, I do not and will not skip any daily workouts. I use Polar products to focus on Zone 2 (Fat Burn) and Zone 3 (Intensity) training. The first time I got on an elliptical I ran 2 miles in 25 minutes. Now, I average over 345 visits to the gym each year (I just completed my second year), my routine is an 60 minutes+ (8-9 mi./day) every day on the elliptical and 4-5 hours of tennis a week!

I am now in the BEST shape I have been since high school (25 years ago). I have dropped over 100 pounds! I have lost 14 sizes on my waist (from a 48 to approaching a 34), 5 sizes on my neck – a 22 to below a 17 and 4 shirt sizes – a 4X to L. I believe the program has worked for me because this time I started with exercise not fad dieting.

I am now in Phase 2 of monitoring/tracking my workouts. In April this year, I graduated to using a Polar FT 80 watch. I now load all of my strength training workouts & AB workouts into it. Initially, I only wanted only to focus on Fat Burn and Recovery. Now that I am below a 30 BMI, I can push it!

I am addicted to polarpersonaltrainer.com (Drew 2010) and am regularly in 8-10 Challenges all the time The community provides great support! I pore over the charts/graphs and they are a great source of pride and motivation. I post milestones on fb and now inspire many others. I am starting to get quite a following of people that are participating and using the same methodology I have adopted.

I feel great. I have 0 health issues. Recent lab reports show normal glucose, great liver, a cessation of my chronic neck, knee and back pain and I don’t take ANYTHING for meds.

MFP has been a great new substitute for WW online. Thank you Marlane! I did not like the changes to WW last year and MFP let's me eat the way I was eating (when I was successful with my weight loss)...and watch that portion control! I know what to eat...just never how much. Great IPhone app and my whole family is now on MFP! I am hooked on MFP (85 days in a row today). MFP helped me lose that last 10 (after a 14 month plateau)!

congrats to you for taking control and becoming the best you that you can be! great job!

well i've lost 20 lbs so far and want to lose 60 more. my strategy is really simple. i track what i eat and try to meet the 2 lbs per week calorie goal on here (after exercise). i exercise almost everyday for 30+ minutes.

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U all are all awesome!! Great job

I had gained about 60 pounds in about 5-6 years, in part due to a knee injury, then a spinal cord problem that I had been unaware of. I was very active even so, yet my calorie intake had clearly gotten away from me. It was easier to gain in part because I am very tall and could carry it to some degree. Friends didn't so much think I was fat until they saw what I looked like slim again. I started somewhere between 225-230 lbs.

In light of impending spine (neck) surgery and the thought that I could do very little for a few months and only walk for 4 weeks after the surgery, the thought of just sitting and getting fatter was just too much. I needed to heal and grow bone for my surgery, so I planned a diet that was low in calories, high in all the nutrients that I required to heal correctly. The mindfulness was all I needed to get started. Simply putting thought back into my diet was huge.

I limited my daily intake to about 1250-1500 calories/day and I walked every single day with a friend, sometimes twice. We walked any where from 20-30 miles/week, mostly level ground. Once I was stronger my walks were on the very very hilly/ mountainous roads where I live.

In 6 months, I averaged about 10 pounds/month. I was strict. I kept to the diet without cheating at all in 6 months. In retrospect now, I can't believe I did it. Everything that passed my lips had to have something to contribute to my health. I did indulge in 50 calories of dark chocolate every singe night for my very sweet tooth. Over the major holidays, I would plan out what I was going to eat ahead of the the meal, and in that way I could decide how I wanted to spend my budgeted calories. I treated it like I would cash- is that gross cookie really worth 150 calories of my daily allowance?? It rarely was. But that homemade pie was, and I would either cut down somewhere else or make up for it the next day.

I never ever went below 1250 calories/day. If I had been very good all day and found myself under 1250, then I would just eat what ever my heart desired to make it up.

I prepared fresh meals and used my favorite ingredients. I sacrificed carbs- they are very "expensive" and don't help me feel full. I gave up wine and cocktails for most of the 6 months. My diet was very high in fruits, vegetables, lean meats. fish. yogurt, nuts and legumes. At work I had prepared rescue packs- if I had a starving and hungry day, I had a highly nutritious and filling snack to rescue me. It was not necessarily low calorie, but at least it was valuable!

I trade sweets now for carbs like bread and rice as I am an avid baker and just can't resist anymore now that I am on maintenance. What I make is always both far better and lower in calorie than anything eaten out.

I still track my calories as it is just so easy to go far off for me with our lifestyle and social gatherings with friends. I find that I seem to be able to naturally keep with the food calories, but if we are out or having wine with dinner, it is soo easy to go far over my intended calories. Bummer. So it keeps me honest if I track everything.

If we are going out for dinner, I try to look at the menu ahead of time and plan what I will order that is both what I want and a reasonable calorie amount. If I know I am going to my favorite restaurant with that amazing heavy pasta with a cream sauce and great wine..... well I will try to make up for it during that day and the day immediately after. It has been working.

I am now down under 170 lbs, which for my tall stature is very slim. The most accurate description of how I feel is unbelievable RELIEF!

Good luck and hang in there.